As I was praying one day on my way to work, I was overcome with a deep sense of gratitude. I began to thank God for different things that would come up in my heart, things I would never typically think about. After a few minutes of this, I uttered these words by the Spirit, “I thank you, Father, for the body of Christ that validates You to the world.”
As soon as I made that statement, I saw a vision of a dark-skinned fellow of middle age, dressed in a white robe, sitting in a wheelchair with his head bowed down. He was facing almost directly to my right, and I could only see his profile. He was crippled in his arms and legs. As I stared at him, wondering what this meant, the word “INVALID” appeared above his head in all capital letters.
My grandmother was a nurse, and I had heard her use that word many times about my aunt Alice, her daughter, who was stricken with polio. Alice could do almost nothing herself. She had little use of her arms and legs and needed full-time care. She died at the age of 10.
As I continued to watch, the word changed from “INVALID” to “NOT VALID.” At that moment, the man looked up at me, and I saw that it was Jesus! The expression on His face was one of profound sadness. As soon as I realized who it was, the vision ended. The whole thing only lasted about 15 seconds. My heart went from overflowing with gratitude to being grief-stricken in a moment. The Lord gave me an instant understanding of what I had just seen.
The Church has done a poor job of validating Jesus Christ to the world. We are His body; we are his hands and feet; we are the ones called to demonstrate His kingdom to the world. Through this brief vision, He was showing me the current condition of the Church.
His body is weak and crippled because of the poison we have been feeding it—the poison of false doctrines of men and doctrines of devils. We have left our first love and not represented Christ well. From the worlds point of view, Christ is becoming increasingly invalid. I cried profusely.
We have seen a few men and women throughout history who have given themselves in complete surrender to Christ. These individuals demonstrated the kingdom of God like Jesus did. They moved in authority with signs and wonders, operating in the supernatural power of God, but these individuals have been very few.
Only a small part of Christ’s body is functioning properly. Most Christians sit their backsides in the pews once or twice a week, unequipped and unwilling to do the work of the ministry. Jesus remains in that wheelchair, waiting for His Children to arise and validate Him and His message to a lost and dying world.
Maybe God showed me this to remind us that it is still possible, to encourage us to go deeper, to pursue Him more aggressively. This level of complete surrender must become the norm for the end-time Church. We must develop a culture that reproduces completely surrendered disciples. This is the key to validating Christ to the world.
John 14:12-14 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
I don’t think anyone can argue against the fact that the Church has not lived up to these powerful words Jesus spoke. Not even close. And yet He said to them “nonetheless,” which means they will be fulfilled. Glory to God!
The end-time Church must lead with demonstration and power, not just eloquent teachings and entertainment-focused ministry. Signs and wonders must be present to maintain influence over people who are being persecuted for their faith. Demonstrating kingdom power and authority will be needed to give people hope and keep them moving forward and pursuing God during the greatest tribulation the world has ever known.
There are inherent dangers that come with God’s power and authority. This is why we don’t see it much in Church today. God loves us too much to trust His power to irresponsible babes. We must be mature enough spiritually to maintain a servant’s perspective while operating in His divine power. If we don’t, we will likely fall into pride and spiritual abuse, thinking more highly of ourselves than we should, destroying ourselves, our witness, and forfeiting any rewards we may have in eternity. Not to mention the damage we can do to our brothers and sisters.
Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
We must all change, but it must start with leaders.
The best leaders in any capacity are, without fail, the best of servants to those they are leading. When we hear the word “servant,” we tend to think of a slave, a hired hand, or someone in the “helps” ministry. In the case of leadership, this takes on a much higher and nobler meaning. A servant leader is devoted to meeting the needs of those he is leading so that they are better equipped to fulfill their roles and grow as leaders themselves. He serves others with the hope of them finding and fulfilling their God-given purpose and destiny. He inspires others to lay down their life completely while modeling the process.
“If we are not willing to serve others, we are not qualified to lead them.”
I believe that God is stirring the Church and changing its culture to better represent our Lord Jesus Christ to the world. As Jude said, “We need to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Church.”
Jude 3-4 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
JESUS IS COMING!
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